LUKE Foley has told the Labor Party he will not contest the next New South Wales election, 24 hours after sensationally quitting as Opposition Leader.

Mr Foley, who was on track to be the state’s next premier, stood down after detailed and damning allegations levelled by ABC journalist Ashleigh Raper.

She alleged he put his hand through the back of her dress and in her underpants after a Christmas function two years ago.

According to Labor sources, Mr Foley informed the party late on Friday afternoon that he would not seek re-election for his seat of Auburn.

The night of the alleged incident was a month before Christmas and at the end of a doozy of a year in state politics.

For much of 2016, then-Premier Mike Baird saw his sky high popularity with the electorate collapse and he was on the ropes following a series of contentious policy decisions, from the flop-flopping on greyhound racing bans to Sydney’s controversial lockout laws.

Behind the scenes, Liberal Party powerbrokers were increasingly concerned that his government’s dwindling polling numbers would put it at serious risk of losing clear air and good will.

At the end of January the next year, Mr Baird would step down to make way for Gladys Berejiklian — a transition that political insiders say was under way as Christmas approached a few months earlier.

So, when New South Wales press gallery journalists gathered for a function at Parliament House in November 2016, joined by politicians and their staffers, the mood was one of exhaustion and anticipation.

Traditionally held in the final sitting week of each year, the event is a raucous one — relaxed and off the record, with everyone keen to blow off a bit of pent up steam.

But that year, an incident would allegedly take place that two years on would claim the scalp of the man almost certainly set to be the premier of Australia’s most populous and prosperous state.

Ashleigh Raper alleges that Luke Foley put his hand inside her dress and into her underwear and cupped her buttock. Picture: TwitterSource:Twitter

The official function wrapped up at about 9pm and a group of revellers, from senior government ministers to Opposition figures, carried on with journalists to a nearby bar in Martin Place.

According to Andrew Clennell, NSW Political Editor for The Australian newspaper, Ms Raper and her friend and colleague Sean Nicholls were in the designated smoking area outside when Mr Foley approached them.

Ms Raper was the public broadcaster’s state political reporter and Mr Nicholls covered the beat for The Sydney Morning Herald.

The Labor leader, whose electoral fortunes had been steadily improving, ventured out to say goodnight to the reporters.

It was during this brief exchange that Raper alleges he stood next to her, put his hand through the back of her dress and inside her underpants, cupping her buttocks.

Now, after leading the government in polling for months — and until yesterday, on track to seize power next March — the Labor Party is in turmoil.

Mr Foley’s political career is all but over, Ms Raper has suffered the indignity of a story becoming public against her wishes and the government has gone to ground.

This is an inside look at how the scandal quietly brewed before exploding in spectacular fashion. And it’s far from over.

WHO KNEW WHAT AND WHEN?

Last month, Liberal MP David Elliott stood in the parliament chamber and fired a very pointed barb across the aisle at Mr Foley.

It was a particularly fiery day and the two had been exchanging pot shots, when Mr Elliott upped the ante with a comment that could not be ignored.

“I’ve never had a little too much to drink at a party and harassed an ABC journalist, I’ve never done that,” Mr Elliott said.

It was hardly news to many who had previously heard the rumours.

Liberal MP David Elliot is under fire for voicing the allegations against Luke Foley in parliament without consulting or warning Ashleigh Raper. Picture: Nathan EdwardsSource:News Corp Australia

“The rumour only really started circulating around May,” one journalist told news.com.au.

Given the alleged incident involved one of their own, there was uncertainty about how to approach the story.

Clennell wrote today that he first heard the whispers in February but did not know who they concerned.

It was just weeks after Raper asked ABC bosses to remove her from the state politics round and reassign her. Yesterday, she insisted that decision was unrelated to the allegation.

By April, Clennell knew that Raper was the journalist at the centre of the alleged incident.

“When I saw Raper in the corridors of parliament in April, I put the allegation directly to her,” he wrote in The Australian today. “She just kept telling me that she could not comment and to go to ABC Media.”

Around the same time, it’s understood Alison McClymont — a producer with the ABC’s national investigative unit — began quietly probing Labor Party sources.

It’s also understood she reached out to Raper.

The press gallery source told news.com.au that there were a few people chasing the story, trying to convince Raper to go on the record.

Media and Labor sources tell news.com.au that the allegations against Luke Foley, seen here with Ashleigh Raper on the right at a media conference, began circulating as early as April. Picture: Channel 7Source:Supplied

When Mr Foley quit yesterday, questions were raised about whether his colleagues knew the extent of the allegation before they were raised in parliament.

A senior Labor Party figure told news.com.au that concerns were simmering as early as April when Clennell and McClymont began chasing the story.

“The rumour has been rife in ALP circles since April,” the source said.

At a press conference this afternoon, Ms Berejiklian conceded she had heard rumours of an alleged incident prior to Mr Elliott’s comments in October.

“Obviously there have been rumours about these issues for a long time (but) all of us respected that they were rumours,” Ms Berejiklian said.

The NSW Labor Party and Michael Daley — the presumed successor to Mr Foley — have been approached for comment on what they knew and when, but news.com.au is yet to receive a reply.

THE POLITICAL STRATEGY

In her statement yesterday, Raper criticised the use of her experience as a political tactic by the government.

Mr Elliott, who is the Minister for Counter Terrorism, Corrections and Veterans Affairs, did not warn her or consult her that he was going to reference the alleged incident in parliament.

“Situations like mine should not be discussed in parliament for the sake of political point scoring. And I want it to stop,” Raper said.

There are questions about how Mr Elliott became aware of the allegation and who it related to, and whether he stood by his conduct in October.

When asked today what action she might take against David Elliott, Premier Gladys Berejiklian ended a press conference and walked away. Picture: AAPSource:AAP

When contacted yesterday and pressed on Raper’s upset, a spokesperson for Mr Elliott declined to comment.But today, he issued a brief statement on the matter.

“This has clearly been a difficult time for the journalist,” Mr Elliott said. “To that end, it was never my intent to cause distress for the journalist.”

There are growing calls for Mr Elliott to be held to account for his behaviour and questions about whether the Premier’s Office was aware that he intended to make that comment in October.

“There is absolutely no doubt that nobody wants to see a continuation of any political point scoring on this or any other related matter,” Ms Berejiklian said today.

“I’ve expressed my absolute disappointment that the ability to control this matter was taken away from her.”

When asked if she would make an example of Mr Elliott, the premier ended the press conference.

Calls to her office by news.com.au since yesterday have not been returned.

JOURNALIST HITS BACK

In his piece in The Australian today, Mr Clennell alleged that Nicholls had informed an unnamed Liberal MP about the allegations.

When approached for comment, Nicholls referred news.com.au to the ABC’s spokesperson.

In a statement issued by the public broadcaster on his behalf, the journalist said he “unequivocally denies” the claim.

“Today’s report in The Australian is wrong and an outrageous slur on my integrity,” the statement read.

The information 'was not David Elliot's to divulge '7:38

Sky News Chief Political Reporter Kieran Gilbert says Liberal MP David Elliott 'deserves some flack' after using parliamentary privilege to air allegations about former NSW Labor leader Luke Foley and an ABC journalist.
The Minister for Corrections aired the claims in parliament on October 18 without the consent of thereporter, later revealed to be Ashleigh Raper.
She said she had finally come forward on Thursday partly because she wanted to stop situations like hers being politicised.
Kieran Gilbert criticised Mr Elliot's handling of the situation as ' low rent', adding the information was not his to divulge.
Mr Foley says the allegations are false and he will pursue a defamation claim.
Image: Tim Pascoe / News Corp Australia

November 8th 2018

11 days ago

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“I have never given information to a Liberal politician — or any politician — about an allegation involving an ABC journalist and Luke Foley.

“As Ashleigh Raper’s powerful and brave statement on Thursday said, I have refrained from discussing any details of what I witnessed for almost two years, honouring her request.

“Had The Australian put this defamatory claim to me prior to publication I would have told them it was false. For the record, I fully support Ashleigh’s account of what happened.”

WHY SHE DIDN’T COME FORWARD

While it seems some in and around state politics knew of this story as early as April, it took almost two years for the lid to be blown off.

That’s because Raper never intended to make a complaint or speak publicly about the alleged incident.

“This is a position I never wanted to be in and a statement I never intended to make,” she said.

Ashleigh Raper has said she didn’t want to come forward or make a complaint because of the media storm that would follow. Picture: ABCSource:ABC

However she felt forced to do so because of “the escalation of the public debate, including in state and federal parliament, despite my expressed with to neither comment nor complain.”

Raper said she feared the prospect of “ongoing media and political interest” and the impact it might have on her career and personal life.

It was Mr Elliott’s remark in parliament last month that set unstoppable wheels in motion.

“As a woman, I cannot imagine what she has been through,” Ms Berejiklian said.

“Woman are often afraid to speak out because of the impact it might have on their career. I don’t want to see that happen. She deserves out upmost respect. All of us know her calibre and integrity.”

The issue has reached the Victorian State Election campaign trail, with Premier Daniel Andrews today addressing the allegations during a media conference.

“The point I wish to make is that none of us should forget how much courage it takes for a woman to come forward and make a claim like that,” Mr Andrews said.

“Blokes have got to stop behaving like this. This is not on. This is not on and it must stop.”

WHAT HAPPENS NOW?

Late yesterday, Mr Foley made a brief statement announcing he was quitting the Labor leadership.

But he also indicated he had engaged lawyers to launch a defamation claim over the allegations, although it’s not clear who that action would be against.

Today, Mr Daley said he was “very unhappy” with how Mr Foley handled the matter at his press conference yesterday.

The state executive of the Labor Party is reportedly meeting to decide Mr Foley’s future, with a number of senior figures urging them to dump him.

Foley resigns as NSW Labor leader2:12

Labor leader Luke Foley has resigned on Thursday after ABC journalist Ashleigh Raper accused him of sexual harassment.
Mr Foley says the allegations are false and he will pursue a defamation claim.
He says he will now move to the backbench.
Ms Raper released a statement through the ABC, alleging Mr Foley groped her inappropriately at a Christmas party in 2016.
Image: Darren Leigh Roberts/ News Corp Australia